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Engineering, Building, and Architecture

Not many museums collect houses. The National Museum of American History has four, as well as two outbuildings, 11 rooms, an elevator, many building components, and some architectural elements from the White House. Drafting manuals are supplemented by many prints of buildings and other architectural subjects. The breadth of the museum's collections adds some surprising objects to these holdings, such as fans, purses, handkerchiefs, T-shirts, and other objects bearing images of buildings.

The engineering artifacts document the history of civil and mechanical engineering in the United States. So far, the Museum has declined to collect dams, skyscrapers, and bridges, but these and other important engineering achievements are preserved through blueprints, drawings, models, photographs, sketches, paintings, technical reports, and field notes.

Text and photograph fromGardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by James Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

When this picture was made, the Third Corps was yet an independent organization, under the command of Gen. French, whose Chief Quartermaster was Lieut. Col. J. B. Howard. The distinguishing flag of the Colonel's command, which adorns the side of his dwelling, carried the historical diamond of the Corps, in red, white, and blue, with the words "Chief Quartermaster." The adjoining canvased-roofed but was the Colonel's business office, the patched addition in front, warmed by a stove, serving the purpose of an ante-room where orderlies could wait in comfort. In the first but there was a fireplace worthy of a New England mansion house. Oak logs, supported on camp-made fire dogs, gave a cheery blaze, and spread a genial warmth through the apartment. The floor was of plank, and the ceiling of canvass. On the walls, partly covered with hanging blankets of various colors, and partly papered with illustrated weeklies, there hung maps, field glasses, arms, &c. Pine chairs of the simplest pattern, a desk full of pigeon holes, crammed with papers bound with red tape, and an iron safe, completed the list of furniture, The adjoining room was gorgeous with the luxury of a carpet, while a comfortable bed and toilet arrangements gave a homelike air to the apartment. In these quarters the Colonel's wife and little daughter found sufficient attraction to detain them several weeks; and round the blazing hearth, on many a sullen winter night, the ennui of camp were forgotten in pleasant re-unions of the General's staff.

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

The ingenuity and taste of the American soldier is strikingly illustrated in the variety of architecture with which he adorns his summer quarters. A permanent camp is invariably surrounded by evergreens; and if a regiment bivouac but for a day, the spot will long after be marked by the leafy bowers erected before each tent. The forests are ransacked for the brightest foliage, branches of the pine, cedar, and holly are laboriously collected, and the work of beautifying the quarters continued as long as material can be procured. Camps are surrounded with neat hedges, arches bearing the corps badge and other devices are erected at the entrances, and the tents sheltered from the sun by roofs of deftly woven twigs and leaves. Sometimes a framework is erected around a number of tents, upon which is fastened a thick covering of evergreens, completely hiding the interior, and forming a home delightfully cool, even in the hottest days. Thus secluded, the wives of officers, in their brief visits to the front, find a most pleasant abiding place, from which they return with reluctance to city homes. An indescribable charm surrounds such life. There is the glittering show of the army, all the beauty that skill can add to nature's work, and an endless round of festivity like that of the merriest picnic.

A camp thus embowered, with the regiments parading, the arms glittering like silver, and the music of the bands swelling on the breeze, presents a scene of beauty rarely excelled. Its recollections are treasured among the happiest memories of the field, and many a country woman will wear a brighter dress for the lessons of adornment army life has taught.

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

This scene represents General Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, at Brandy Station, just previous to the Wilderness campaign. The large tent was occupied by Gen. Meade, and the adjoining tent by his chief of staff, Gen. Humphreys. The telegraph office was situated immediately in rear of them. The tents of the staff formed a semi-circle in front of the Commanding General's Headquarters, and are but partly shown in this sketch. The camp was enclosed with a neat brush fence, and footwalks of plank were laid down, connecting the officers' quarters. Attached to headquarters were the offices of the Adjutant-General, the Chief Quartermaster, Chief Commissary and Provost Marshal General, the heads of the Engineer, Signal and Telegraph Corps, the Chief of Artillery, Medical Director, and the Stockade for Prisoners, forming a large camp, requiring two regiments for police and guard duty. In addition to these, there was a squadron of Cavalry for escort duty. Life in headquarters was always pleasant. In seasons of inactivity very little of the officers' time was occupied by military matters, and the days passed by like a dream.

There were always visitors at headquarters, bands made music at all hours, and winter evenings slipped away, leaving only recollections too dear to be forgotten. Chess, whist, and the more popular game of poker filled up the hours that might otherwise have dragged heavily, and the huts and tents in the woods frequently became invested with a charm like that of home. Every scouting party that returned from hazardous expeditions reported to headquarters. All the gossip of army life centered here, bringing in every rumor of movements in hostile camps, every whisper of jealousy among subordinates, and the details of entertainments in the field, where staff and regimental officers held high carnival. If a sentry miles away was shot at his lonely post in the night, his name came in on the current of official records to headquarters just the same as that of the Major General. This was the heart of the army, and the corps and divisions were but members that throbbed with its impulses. Precious are the memories of its bivouacs, and they who lived within its social circle, turn to the reminiscences of those days as among the brightest of their lives.

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by James Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

Here is represented the deserted quarters of Gen. Sharp, Chief of the Secret Service of the Army of the Potomac, at Brandy Station, Virginia. The tents have been removed, and the sketch depicts the scene when the camping ground, which had been occupied by headquarters during the winter, is being abandoned for the spring campaign. In the back-ground are the stalls for the staff horses, and the stockade or "bull pen" for prisoners arrested by the Provost Marshal General. The photograph possesses interest only as an illustration of the mode of life of the army in winter. No sooner is it known in camp that the quarters are likely to be permanent, than every man commences the erection of substantial quarters, which, in the winter season are made as comfortable as any village. Floors are laid in the tents, log huts are built, and their inner walls neatly covered with illustrated papers, and chimneys with capacious fire-places erected, rendering the winter home of the soldier, if not desirable, at least a very pleasant residence. Storms and frost are unheeded, and the long evenings pass in mirth, with no care for to-morrow's hardship or future perils.

What sad reflections crowd upon the mind in visiting these relics of the past! All through the South in many a lonely waste such columns stand as mournful monuments of forgotten joys and aspirations; sealed volumes, whose unwritten lore none can interpret save those who made the record. Fragments of a sorrowful era, and witnesses of events which the world may pray shall never be re-enacted, the visitor beside each wreck will ask:

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

The North Anna is an exceedingly picturesque river, abounding in beautiful scenery; the old mills of Jericho being not the least remarkable among its many attractions. Here, on the 23d of May, 1864, the Fifth Corps, under the leadership of Gen. Governeur K. Warren, performed one of the most dashing exploits of that campaign. Advancing quickly upon the river, they poured down the steep banks, driving all before them, and, with no delay for pontoons, dashed across and secured a position upon the other aide[sic], before the rebels could organize for opposition. General Warren was not allowed to hold, without a struggle, what he had so suddenly gained. Forming their masses in the woods, the enemy soon commenced a vigorous attack upon the isolated corps; but the Fifth Corps was not disposed to part with its laurels, and after a severe struggle, which cost them many men, the defeated Confederates withdrew. The pontoons arriving, bridges were laid, and the Sixth Corps passed over to take position with the Fifth. No further fighting of any consequence ensuing, the soldiers amused themselves by destroying a large portion of the railroad between Richmond arid [sic] Gordonsville. That accomplished, the army recrossed the river, and proceeded to execute another of the flanking operations, which were the peculiar feature of Grant's campaign against Richmond. One of those incidents characteristic of war, and which can hardly be prevented, where an army marches through hostile countries, took place here. Before the pontoon bridges were removed, some straggling soldiers entered one of the houses on the top of the bank, over the mill, and fired it; forcing the inmates to leave and seek refuge in the open air, where a heavy rain drenched them to the skin, They descended the hill, and crossed the pontoon bridge, a pitiful procession of women and wailing children, ignorant of the fact, that the house they were seeking for protection was likewise destroyed and the inmates driven off.

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

This bridge is on the road known as the Telegraph road to Richmond. On the 23d of May Gen. Hancock found it defended by earthworks, manned, and offering a spirited resistance. These were speedily carried by a brilliant assault of the old "Berry Brigade," and the bridge taken before damage had been done it by the defenders. The 93d New York, in the heat of the charge, carried their colors to the centre of the structure, the enemy still holding the opposite bank. The bridge and its approaches remained exposed to the fire of a battery of the enemy, so posted that the Union artillery could not silence it as long as we held possession. Everything crossing it had to run the gauntlet of a wicked fire, rapidly delivered, and at good range. Pouring over at the double-quick, those commands that were obliged to cross, offered a capital mark to the rebel gunners. In this way several large regiments of New York heavy artillery went over, not without serious casualties, the shells bursting about their heads with deafening explosions. Captain Bleeper's battery, the 10th Massachusetts, crossed it about this time, the rebels redoubling their efforts in hope of blowing up the ammunition, but the captain only passed over one piece at a time, thus materially diminishing the target; and as the rule is to go no faster than a walk, (unless at the risk of severe pains and penalties at the hands of the local authorities), the aforesaid captain passed over with each piece in turn, enforcing the observance of the law, and proving the discipline of his battery. The ridge in the distance was the position held by the Second Corps, till it was determined not to advance any further in that direction.

It is a curious fact that this bridge received hardly any damage from the continual fire of the rebel battery; nor was the loss among the troops exposed to it anything like what might have been expected, owing to the fire of the Second Corps artillery, which must have considerably confused its aim.

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Alexander Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

Another scene of picturesque beauty on this interesting stream. The building is a time-worn, weather-stained structure, not altogether free from the suspicion of harboring reptiles. In the river the negroes caught delicious terrapin, and the soldiers varied their rations with messes of catfish. A temporary bridge, constructed from the timber found at the mill, was thrown across, just below the dam, and many were the misgivings, when the rains caused a rise in the river, threatening to float away the frail structure, and sever communications with the opposite bank, a disaster which happily did not take place. In the grassy fields above the mill, the tents of Grant's and Meade's headquarters, seldom far apart, were pitched for a few days. Among the prisoners brought to this place was a woman, clad in rebel gray. She was taken, mounted astride a bony steed, apparently performing the duties of a scout, but claimed to belong to a battery of artillery. A degraded, wild specimen of humanity, of Irish extraction, with a shock of tangled black hair hanging in elf locks down to her shoulders, she proved the centre of interest to the idlers of the camp. At these she would occasionally hurl stones, being particularly hostile towards the negroes, who gave her a wide berth, to avoid the missiles, which she threw with considerable force and accuracy. The North Anna, meeting with its sister stream, the South Anna, a few miles lower down, forms the sluggish Pamunkey, which in its turn combines with the Mattapony, and becomes the York river, under which name the associated streams fall into the Chesapeake.

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

This place is the county seat of Charles City County, about twenty-five miles southeast from Richmond, and is a fair specimen of many Virginia Court-Houses. This neighborhood was the scene of a number of severe cavalry fights during the war, the Court-House, in 1862, being only three miles from the intrenched camp of Gen. McClellan, whose army marched past the village in its retreat from before Richmond to Fortress Monroe. Gen. Meade's army, in 1864, again occupied this section, and passed over its roads from Coal Harbor to Petersburg, when the building was sacked by the troops, and many of the records were destroyed. There were but two or three dwellings and a church composing the village, and a stranger might pass through the place without dreaming that it possessed a name. Its history dates from the early settlement of Virginia, and the cemeteries round about it contain the names of those who passed away one hundred years ago.

The return of peace has here failed to quicken the people, and everything is rapidly sinking to decay. The aristocratic families, impoverished by the war, and deprived of the labor of their slaves, barely manage to live, and the whole country along the James is rapidly becoming overgrown with scrub timber and chaparral.

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by James Gardner, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

This sketch represents one of the pontoon bridges across the James River, at Powhattan Point, near Harrison's Landing, and not far from Charles City Court-House; and which was used by Gen. Grant's army, in his march from Coal Harbor to City Point. The bridge was laid down on the fourteenth of June, 1864, and the troops commenced crossing the next day. Gen. Warren's Corps moved from its position, one mile in rear of Coal Harbor, and marched across the Richmond and York River Railroad, taking the Long Bridge road over the Chickahominy and down to the James, followed by Hancock, Wright and Burnside; the Eighteenth Corps having already occupied Bermuda Hundreds, on the north side of the James, several miles above the pontoons. The enemy made no attempt to interrupt the movement, confining himself to the defences of Richmond. The passage of the James River was effected without the loss of a gun or wagon, Wilson's Cavalry covering the rear from attack, and enabling the army to cross without any undue haste. After the infantry had passed over, the immense wagon trains crossed, followed by the cattle herds, and finally by the Cavalry. The scene at this point during the passage of the river by the army was most spirited. The stream was crowded with gunboats, transports and sailing vessels, as far as the eye could reach, while on both sides of the river a long cloud of dust marked the line of march across the level country. Simultaneously with this movement of our troops, the rebels left their defences [sic] north of Richmond, and marched through that city towards Petersburg, in front of which the first engagement took place on the fifteenth, resulting in the capture of the enemy's entrenchments and the occupation of the city by our Cavalry. Unfortunately the advantage thus gained was not held, the cavalry falling back upon our Infantry, which failed to get up in time to prevent the rebels from reoccupying the city.

During the passage of the army across the James, the mails and passengers were brought on steamers from Washington to these bridges, and transferred by means of small boats, to steamers above the pontoons, thus enabling them to reach City Point and Bermuda Hundreds without much delay. No better summary of these few days' events can be given, than in the despatch of Gen. Grant to the President, on the seventeenth. He says, "The Ninth Corps crossed this morning, carried two more redoubts, forming a part of the defences [sic] of Petersburg, capturing four hundred and fifty prisoners and four guns. Our successes are being followed up. Our forces drew out from within fifty yards of the enemy's intrenchments, at Coal Harbor, made a flank movement, of about fifty-five miles march, crossing the Chickahominy and James Rivers – the latter two thousand feet wide and eighty-four feet deep at the point of crossing – and surprised the enemy's rear at Petersburg. This was done without the loss of a wagon or piece of artillery, and only about one hundred and fifty stragglers were picked up by the enemy. In covering this move, Warren's Corps and Wilson's Cavalry had frequent skirmishing with the enemy, each losing from fifty to sixty killed and wounded, but inflicting an equal if not greater loss upon the enemy."

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by John Reekie, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.

This is not the place on the James river, near the landing of the same name, where so many of the prisoners of War were exchanged, but an ordinary house, not far from that known as the Yellow House, and near the line of the Weldon Railroad. While Grant was extending his lines towards the left, in front of Petersburg, the country near this house was the scene of severe engagements. A more uninviting country to manoeuvre troops in could hardly be found. It was even worse than the "Wilderness." Woods of heavy pines, of hard timber, and of the scrubby black jack, combined with the dense growth of underbrush and vines, formed thickets, infinitely more impenetrable than the Mexican chaparral. Threaded by muddy streams, and almost destitute of roads, this section seemed the chosen haunt of malarial disease. Into these fastnesses, whose geography was entirely unknown to our engineers, the army made three movements, during November, 1864. In one of them the Second Corps suffered by a flank attack made with some impetuosity by the rebels. On another occasion the enemy made a break in the Fifth Corps, till finally, badly whipped and driven back, when our soldiers made permanent their occupation of the disputed territory by building roads, bridges, and earthworks, burning off the underbrush, and cutting down the trees for abattis, firewood, and the construction of winter quarters.

Close by the Aiken House, the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac were pitched; to the no small gratification of some of the junior officers on the staff, as in that house were domiciled no less than seven young ladies. Female society was scarce in camp, and thankfully accepted, without much regard to politics. Within the railing of the garden was the tent of the safeguard, pasted [sic] to protect the house and its inmates from intrusion or injury at the hands of stragglers. These guardians were often left behind when the army was on the move, to find themselves unexpectedly relieved by officers in gray uniforms. The person of a safeguard was, however, sacred, and on examination of his papers he was sent under flag of truce to his own command.

It was in the neighborhood of the Aiken House, that a group of generals and other officers were once assembled, while a movement was in progress. They were in a field entirely out of sight of the enemy, when a rebel battery opening at random, dropped its shells in the immediate vicinity of the group, causing a most undignified leave-taking. Near this house was one of the stations on the military railroad, built for convenience in supplying the army in its cantonments.